Obesity costs around £1bn a year
The Committee of Public Accounts, in their report
‘Tackling
Child Obesity - first steps’ (HC 156), set out a number of conclusions and
recommendations on tackling child obesity.
Child obesity in the UK is
increasing, with a steady rise in the number of children aged 2-10 who are
obese from 9.9% in 1995 to 13.4% in 2004. Overall, it is estimated obesity
already costs around £1 billion a year and the UK economy a further £2.3 to
£2.6 billion in indirect costs.
The Committee suggests that the Public
Service Agreement target set by three Government Departments (Health,
Education, and Culture, Media and Sport) needs to improve in both their
responses to this matter and leadership.
Ofcom must regulate call TV quiz shows
Call TV quiz shows are an example of television programmes
provided by commercial broadcasters in order to increase their revenue. The
viewer watches the live broadcast, then sends a text message or makes a premium
rate telephone call in order to take part, with the broadcaster keeping a
proportion of the call revenue.
The Culture Committee has been examining
whether regulation is required, as the programme format is similar to gambling,
and has come to the conclusion that Call TV quiz shows should constitute gaming
under the Gambling Act 2005. This Report,
'Call
TV Quiz Shows' (HC 72), presents their findings.
Old Masters seized by Gestapo returned
This report,
‘Report
of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of three drawings now in the
possession of the Courtauld Institute of Art’ (HC 200) deals with a claim
brought on behalf of the heirs of the late Dr Arthur Feldmann in respect of
three drawings now in the possession of the Courtauld Institute of Art.
The claimants contended that they lost possession on 15 March 1939 when the
drawings, together with the rest of Dr Feldmann’s large collection, were seized
by the Gestapo.
New doubts about 2012 Olympics cost and legacy
Doubts have already emerged about the cost of staging the
2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and whether a lasting benefit can be
achieved. While preparations for construction are well advanced, many of the
cost figures contained in the bid are seriously outdated.
The Culture,
Media and Sport Select Committee, in their Report
'London
2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games - Funding and Legacy' (HC 69),
raises concerns that costs have arisen that should have been identified in the
preparation for the bid.
BBC's efficiency assessed in licence fee
settlement
As part of the process of setting the level of the
television licence fee from April 2007, the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport (DCMS) has made an assumption about the level of efficiency savings the
BBC can deliver.
This report by the National Audit Office,
‘How
the DCMS assessed the BBC's as part of the licence fee settlement’ (HC
183), examines whether the Department has reasonable grounds on which to
base its assessment of the BBC's scope for efficiency savings.
New powers proposed to fight organised crime
The
Serious
Crime Bill (House of Lords Bill 27) will introduce new powers that will
strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to fight serious organised
crime.
Government water management response "lacklustre"
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee
criticise the Government for a “lacklustre response” to
'Water Management Report (HL 191-I)' published
in June 2006.
This ‘follow-up’ Report states that the Government is
not engaging sufficiently with the Committee’s recommendations, which
included measures to deal with high levels of unpaid water bills and ways of
addressing water affordability for vulnerable groups and those in financial
need.
Government information websites to close
The Transformational Government strategy was laid out in
the 2005 publication
"Transformational
government: enabled by technology" (Cm. 6683), outlining a six year
improvement journey for public services.
This is the first
Transformational Government Annual Report, covering progress across the three
main themes of the strategy: customer-centric services, shared services and
professionalism.
Primary Care Trusts “improving quality and
safety”
Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are responsible at the local NHS
level for the statutory “duty of care”, largely through implementing clinical
governance.
“Clinical governance” involves improving the overall
standard of clinical care, reducing variations in access to services, and
ensuring that local decision-making is based on the most up to date
effectiveness principles.
Key NHS patient safety objective achieved
The National Patient Safety Agency was established in 2001
to improve patient safety in the NHS.
It aims to ensure that the risk of
avoidable harm to patients is minimal, that concerns about doctors’ and
dentists’ performance are resolved so that return to safe practice is enabled
where appropriate, and that participants in research are protected through an
fair, transparent, quick and efficient ethics system.
Government slow to grasp importance of Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment
This Report from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC)
assesses the impact of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment on the UK.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was launched by United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2001, to provide scientific information to
decision-makers and the public on the consequences of ecosystem change.
Conversion of long leases into ownership
proposed
Some properties in Scotland are held on leases for
'ultra-long' periods of time, such as 999 years. In law, the holder of such a
lease resembles an owner, yet might be subject to "an inappropriate degree of
control" by the landlord, such as termination of the lease without
compensation.
1% GDP could stabilise carbon emissions
In this independent report commissioned by the Treasury,
‘The Stern Review on
the Economics of Climate Change’, Sir Nicholas Stern, former chief
economist of the World Bank, describes the urgent need for action on climate
change.
Examining the likely environmental and economic impacts, the
Stern Review highlights the fact that, while it would take around 1% of GDP to
stabilise carbon emissions at manageable levels, not acting on climate change
could reduce global GDP by up to 1%.
Investment in large scientific facilities
Government invests in a range of large scientific
facilities to support and develop the nation’s science base. The main
components of planning for these facilities are a road map describing large
facilities which UK scientists are likely to need in the next 10 to 15 years,
and a central fund (the Large Facilities Capital Fund) of around £100 million
per year to support investments in such facilities by Research Councils.